Villarreal will be hoping to recover to the top-four race in La Liga when they entertain Mallorca on Monday night.
The Yellow Submarine sits fifth on the La Liga table, and have accumulated 30 points from their 19 league meetings this season ‘Enrique and Co.’, the same number of games as Mallorca who is sixth in the table with 30 points.
Villarreal has only claimed victory in eight of these La Liga matches, and has achieved six draws and five losses during the 19 occasions; they have garnered 30 points which places the team in the fifth level of the division, six points below the fourth-place Athletic Bilbao.
Marcelino’s side are out of Copa del Rey and will not be playing European football this season, meaning their primary focus this season is La Liga, which I believe will affording them a certain edge over Athletic in the race for fourth.
While The Yellow Submarine closed the year at 2024 with a 5-2 victory against Leganes, they were 1-0 flop against Real Sociedad in the previous game, the loss that demonstrated the fifth in Spain’s top tier during the 2024-25.
Villarreal have been great fun to watch this season, finding the net 34 times and conceding 31 goals, the team’s defensive record is in fact the joint-third worst in the top-flight, yet their league position suggests otherwise.
Marcelino’s men have been rather brittle in their home league encounters this season and they have managed to come out trivid only in their nine encounters for the term.
Mallorca are also looking equally good in the season taking 30 points from their 19 matches where they stand at the sixth position and have won nine games, draw three and lost seven.
Despite having placed 16th and 15th in two of their previous three seasons, Los Piratas are expected to finish in the top half this season and should be taken seriously as a candidate for a European finish in Spain's top division.
Since defeating Getafe 1-0 on December 21, Jagoba Arrasate's team hasn't played in La Liga; their last two games were in the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup, respectively.
Mallorca's shocking exit from the Copa del Rey came after they lost 3-0 to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup semi-finals and were eliminated from the competition by Pontevedra.
The points were split in a 1-1 draw in the 2024–25 season's comparable matchup, however Los Bermellones had lost their last three league games against Villarreal.
Despite missing the team's previous two games because of a muscle issue, Perez has scored 11 goals in 14 games for Villarreal this season, including eight goals in Spain's top flight.
Raul Albiol should make a comeback in the middle of the defense, with Willy Kambwala most likely to drop to the bench. Pino may play alongside Thierno Barry in the last third of the field.
Sergi Darder and Robert Navarro are expected to play in the wide positions, with Dani Rodriguez held in reserve, while Muriqi and Cyle Larin will be the away team's front two.
With Omar Mascarell and the returning Morlanes perhaps starting in central midfield, Samu Costa, who was active against Real Madrid last time out after a recent injury issue, could start on the bench once more.
